The United States imposed new sanctions on seven entities and five individuals in Iran and China—including Hong Kong—that Washington says helped facilitate Tehran’s ballistic missile and drone programs.
“Today’s action exposes additional key front companies and trusted agents through which Iran has sought to acquire these components,” Brian Nelson, U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, stated on Tuesday. “The United States will continue to impose costs on those that facilitate Iran’s ability to produce these deadly weapons.”
The sanctions target Buy Best Electronic Pars Company, Tas Technology Company, Cloud Element Company, Btw International, Bright Shore, Azmoon Pajohan Hesgar and Shenzhen Rion Technology Co.
The targeted individuals are Iranian nationals Sayyed Ali Seraj Hashemi, Saeed Hamidi Javar, Mohammad Abdollahi and Ezzatullah Ghasemian Sorbani, as well as Hong Kong resident Thomas Ho Ming Tong.
The sanctioned entities and individuals, which were designated under a U.S. executive order targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means, helped Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics procure “various components, including accelerometers and gyroscopes,” Washington said.
These parts are “key inputs” to Iran’s missile and drone programs, the Treasury Department said, adding that Tehran’s “acquisition of critical missile and UAV components continues to enable its proliferation of weapons systems to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.” (An unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, is a drone.)
On April 13, Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones directly at Israel. Air defense systems and Israeli, U.S. and other allied jets intercepted the vast majority.
On Saturday night, Hezbollah fired a barrage of Iranian-made heavy rockets from Southern Lebanon, killing 12 children and wounding more than 40 others in the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams.